Pecking Order
After escorting Mandy and Kim Sang-sik to their lodgings, Cha Dong-seok stepped outside.
There was no doubt about the pair's identities.
Kim Sang-sik's access card was decisive proof.
The problem was Zeon.
How to treat an Awakener from the slums was entirely up to him.
"They must've tamed him good on their own, right?"
He'd worked with them for a long time.
He could tell what Cha Dong-seok wanted just from a glance.
They would've handled Zeon properly.
It wasn't personal grudge against Zeon.
In Neo Seoul, this was commonplace.
Especially for slum-born Awakeners—they had to be broken harshly to crush their spirit. That mindset was widespread.
Even if trouble arose from this, no one above would hold them accountable for it.
He arrived at the rundown lodging where they'd taken Zeon.
But it was eerily quiet.
"No way they killed these bastards, right?"
Feeling uneasy, Cha Dong-seok flung the door open.
The moment he saw inside, he doubted his own eyes. An unbelievable scene unfolded.
"Guhk! Boss."
"Urgh!"
His men were all collapsed on the floor, groaning.
Arms and legs twisted at grotesque angles as they writhed on the ground.
Zeon sat in the middle.
Zeon looked up at Cha Dong-seok from his chair.
"Come on in."
"What the hell? Why are they...?"
Cha Dong-seok flinched and drew his sword.
Drag!
Zeon rose from the chair and approached Cha Dong-seok.
Cha Dong-seok pointed his sword at Zeon's throat.
"You did this to them?"
"They tried peeking at my rank badge without permission."
"You wrecked them for that? You little shit..."
"Swing that sword, and your wrist won't come out intact either."
"You think you can still get into Neo Seoul after this?"
"Doesn't matter if I don't go in anyway. I'll just stay in the slums."
"Fuck!"
Cha Dong-seok ground his teeth.
Neo Seoul and the slums were adjacent, but practically separate zones.
Neo Seoul rarely interfered in slum affairs unless it was serious.
Interfering only bred headaches, so they granted a degree of autonomy.
Zeon stepped right up to Cha Dong-seok's face.
Close enough to feel each other's breath, Cha Dong-seok could see Zeon's eyes clearly.
Deep, black pupils that felt unnaturally dry.
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
Just meeting Zeon's gaze made his soul plummet into the abyss—his mind reeled dizzily.
He'd never felt this before.
Not even from Neo Seoul's high-ranking Awakeners.
He was only D-rank, but a veteran who'd seen all kinds of hell.
Realizing something was wrong, he instantly shifted his stance.
"Sorry. Why didn't you say you were a high-rank Awakener?"
"Mandy and Kim Sang-sik vouched for me—forgot already?"
"That's... my apologies."
When you bow, bow fully.
Cha Dong-seok offered a sincere apology without excuses.
His men weren't pushovers either.
All D-rank or E-rank Awakeners.
Yet they'd been utterly crushed without landing a scratch on Zeon.
If stepping in himself wouldn't change things, best to bury it here and back off.
Fortunately, Zeon had no intention of escalating further.
"So, we're good then?"
"What problem?"
"Glad to hear it. At least you can talk sense."
"We'll move you to better lodgings."
"Nah, this is fine."
"Still..."
"I wanna be alone now."
"Understood. Rest well."
Cha Dong-seok bowed slightly to Zeon, then yelled at his men.
"Hey, you idiots! Get up already! All of you, now!"
"Urk!"
"Ugh!"
His men struggled to their feet.
Cha Dong-seok left with them.
Once the presence outside faded, Zeon muttered.
"Now I can finally rest."
It was a rite he had to go through anyway.
If it ended like this, it wasn't bad for him either.
Zeon sat back in the chair and scanned the room.
Suddenly, he chuckled.
"This place, huh."
It was the same lodging from eight years ago, when he'd first come to the Magic Stone Mine.
Nothing had changed, so he recognized it instantly.
He'd slept here one night before being dragged to the mine, fallen into the dungeon, and eight years had passed.
Zeon wasn't a kid anymore, nor did he have to work the mines. Yet being here made him feel like he had to head in anyway.
"Come to think of it, that old geezer was around here too."
The con artist elder who'd charged ten sol for a single meal and swindled three hundred sol worth of magic stone for a measly hundred.
Zeon had gotten the hourglass and Exion in return, but the fact remained—he'd been scammed.
Even after all this time, the old man's face was vivid in his memory.
"Clexy, was it? Maybe time to see his face again."
No point sticking around here with nothing to do.
Zeon headed out.
Thankfully, Cha Dong-seok must've given word—no one hassled or blocked him.
Zeon reached the area where Clexy used to peddle without issue.
Little had changed here either.
Zeon's appearance drew merchants from everywhere.
"Over here, come check this out."
"Got good stuff right here."
"You look green—gear up here before you go."
Their eyes gleamed with greed.
They saw Zeon as fresh meat to fleece.
This was daily life here.
Stay sharp, or you'd get skinned alive.
Zeon ignored their calls and looked around. No sign of Clexy anywhere.
No choice—he approached one of the beckoning merchants.
"Lemme ask something."
"Ask a hundred questions, no problem. Long as you buy..."
"If it's useful, I will."
"Good! Shoot."
"Where's Clexy the old man? He used to sell around here."
"Oh, him? Packed up and went into Neo Seoul not long ago."
"Not dead, then?"
"That geezer? Give it decades. Tough as nails."
"Got it."
"Now pick something. Cheap prices!"
The merchant spread his arms wide.
Dozens of items piled behind him.
Zeon scanned for anything like the hourglass that gave him Exion, but nothing caught his eye.
"Nothing I need. I'm out."
"Aw, c'mon, buy one. Dirt cheap!"
The merchant grabbed Zeon's shoulder roughly.
No one left this zone empty-handed.
Buy something, or else—an unspoken rule.
Among merchants, of course.
But Zeon brushed it off lightly.
"Pass. Why buy trash?"
"Trash? You punk!"
The merchant's eyes bulged.
Perfect excuse, he thought—to gouge Zeon big time.
He gripped harder.
Zeon clicked his tongue.
"Tch! Didn't they teach you what happens when you touch someone without asking?"
"What, you little—?"
Crack!
A gruesome snap echoed.
"Gaaahk!"
Overwhelming pain—the merchant clutched his wrist and crumpled.
It dangled broken.
Zeon's doing.
"Like that. Your wrist breaks."
"You fucking shit!"
The merchant screamed hysterically. Nearby merchants gathered one by one.
Creating an atmosphere of intimidation naturally.
That's how newbies got fleeced down to their underwear.
Like Zeon back then. But now, he was no green rookie.
Shff.
Zeon rolled up his sleeve, showing off the gauntlet clearly. Approaching merchants flinched.
Ordinary folk rarely wore gear like that.
Only Awakeners did.
Meaning this smirking young man was one.
"Hm! Forgot the shop door open."
"Shit, pot on the fire—left it boiling."
"Ow, my leg."
The merchants scattered back to their stalls.
The broken-wrist one wore a betrayed look. But that was reality.
Dozens of normals couldn't touch one Awakener.
Blame his own recklessness for not spotting it.
"Goddamn it!"
Tears welled in his eyes.
Zeon crouched to meet his gaze.
"Time to settle up."
"Settle? What bullshit? You broke my arm!"
"Aw, c'mon. You treated me like a mark first. Got wrecked for dissing an Awakener—why the aggrieved face?"
"Urk!"
"Let's keep it simple. Hundred sol. Exactly hundred, and I forget everything."
That was what Clexy had tossed him after swindling the magic stone.
Worth at least three hundred, stolen for a hundred.
Naive and homeless back then, he'd taken it. Not now.
Zeon grinned at the merchant. But to him, it was crushing pressure.
'Fuck! Not a mark—a grim reaper.'
No one to whine to.
In the Magic Stone Mine, fail to fleece and get skinned instead—no complaints.
The victim was the fool.
He pulled out a hundred sol with his good hand.
It trembled handing it over.
Pitiful waste—blood from his eyes soon. But Zeon took it coolly.
"Thanks. No money worries for a bit now. Anyone else wanna try? Hope so."
Zeon pocketed the cash, muttering.
The merchant trembled with rage at the sight.
'Demon. Fleecing merchants like me.'
Zeon left the dazed merchant behind and strolled out of the market.
His first day in the Magic Stone Mine had been eventful. Kept things from getting boring.
Zeon wandered the mine town slowly.
Most miners still in the shafts, so the streets were quiet. Still, plenty of people about.
Seeing so many at once felt novel after so long.
Zeon claimed a spot on the roadside and watched passersby.
Not perfect, but he could feel he'd entered civilization's doorstep.
'Nice.'